Page 18 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

His mind shot back to Wednesday evening and his unplanned dip in Paul’s parents’ pool. That had been almost like a baptism into a new life. It was the moment his life had changed forever.

He shot a glance to Cadence in the kayak beside him.

She grinned. “Ready?”

“No?”

“You’re hilarious.”

He hadn’t meant to be funny. He meant that he’d rather be reading a thriller on the sofa in his cabin. No mosquitoes buzzed him there. He wasn’t too hot or too cold, and there was zero likelihood of an unexpected dunking.

But he hadn’t been able to say no to Cadence. Which was something he wasn’t about to dissect too deeply. After all, he was responsible for her. Without his intervention, she’d be married to Paul and on her honeymoon somewhere.

“Any regrets?” He couldn’t believe the question came out of his mouth.

Cadence’s eyebrows drew together beneath her wide-brimmed sun hat. “About the wedding? Only one.”

His gut plummeted. “What’s that?”

“That I didn’t ditch Paul before he ditched me. That I ever thought I saw anything in him worth pursuing.”

Graham dared breathe. “Oh.”

“You changed my life in all the best ways. Thank you.”

She couldn’t possibly mean it the way his heart was taking it. “Cool. Now, about this paddle.”

“Easy peasy. You dip one end then the other.” She pointed hers to an area of lily pads. “Let’s head over there.”

“Sure.” Graham didn’t want to let on how incompetent he felt, though she’d probably figured it out. If not, she’d know in the next five minutes. He poked one blade into the water. The small craft was responsive. Maybe he could do this without making a fool of himself.

He kept an eye on the way she paddled and tried to copy her method. She was right. It wasn’t rocket science, and the thing wasn’t as tippy as it had felt at first. They paddled into the shadows amid large green leaves lying flat on the lake’s surface.

“This isn’t too terrible.” Then a mosquito buzzed his ear, he swatted at it, and the kayak rocked.

Cadence laughed. “I love it. I can practically feel the stress seeping out of me.”

Not him. “Maybe that’s because of your near escape.”

She wrinkled her nose. “At least my mother has stopped calling a dozen times a day. I mean, I get why she’s upset, but you’d think she’d care more about my feelings than about the money. I doubt they remortgaged the house to pay for the wedding or anything crazy like that.”

The wedding would have taken place last evening. Graham hadn’t taken a full breath until the hour of the ceremony had come and gone. Had he worried she’d fly back to Chicago and marry Paul after all? No. And yet…

“Your church here is nice. Small, but nice.”

He blinked at the change of topic. “It’s not my church. I’m only here temporarily.”

“Why not embrace it while you are?”

“Like you’re making me experience this kayak?”

She flashed him a grin. “Next time we’re going horseback riding.”

“Did I forget to mention the wildlife?”

“You didn’t forget, but I overheard one of the tourists asking Weston about all that at breakfast, and he said sightings were rare and not to worry.”

“Easy for him to say.”

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